Rationale:

C-reactive protein (CRP) has emerged as an important indicator of risk for cardiovascular disease. Recent research has found statin-therapy has a positive impact on CRP levels.

Objectives:

To assess the relationship between CRP and lipids in apparently healthy male and female groups.

Methodology:

88 males and 74 females participated in this study. Age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), body mass index (BMI), Cholesterol (TC, HDL, LDL, TG), aortic wave velocity (AWV), maximal oxygen consumption (VO_2Max), percent VO_2Max predicted and CRP were ascertained.

Results:

All unpaired t-test results are reported male vs. female group: Age [51.1 (+/-15.9) vs. 49.3 (+/-18.5) years], SBP [125.0 (+/-17.3) vs. 126.3 (+/-18.5) mmHg], DBP [73.8 (+/-10.1) vs. 73.6 (+/-9.1) mmHg], BMI [25.0 (+/-3.3) vs. 25.5 (+/-5.8) kg/m²], AWV [6.3 (+/-2.0) vs. 6.8 (+/-1.9) m/sec], percent VO_2Max predicted [117.7 (+/-0.35) vs. 116.3 (+/-0.35) %], LDL [118.1 (+/-30.0) vs. 116.4 (+/-28.9) mg/dl] and TG [118.8 (+/-81.9) vs. 105.8 (+/-57.9) mg/dl] were not significantly different. TC [188.9 (+/-33.4) vs. 200.3 (+/-33.1) mg/dl], HDL [53.8 (+/-12.3) vs. 68.6 (+/-20.3) mg/dl] and CRP [1079 (+/-1168.6) vs. 2120.4 (+/-2900.8) ng/ml] were significantly lower in the male group (P <.03). In the male group, CRP was not significantly correlated with TC (r = -0.05), HDL (r = -0.08), LDL (r = -0.03) or TG (r = 0.01). In the female group, CRP was significantly correlated with TC (r = 0.31), LDL (r = 0.30) and TG (r = 0.54) although it was not significantly correlated with HDL (r = -0.14).

Conclusions:

The results of the present study indicate the relationship between CRP and lipids may be different between a healthy males and females. The prognostic characteristics of CRP and impact of statin therapy on CRP may therefore differ between males and females. Future research should be directed toward resolving this issue.